Chapter 987: Guilds and Academies (1/2)
Krune roamed around the capital city first, enjoying the sights as he ate the numerous treats sold in the restaurants, thinking to himself, 'Gehen has already developed the culinary dishes of the place. All of them are made using the local product, so they're unique and a specialty of this place.'
He then approached the institutions installed in one section of the city. They had been named guilds. There was the Explorer Guild, whose only task was to head into uncharted lands or into the depths of the ocean to explore and note down the details.
The Mercenary Guild existed for people who didn't wish to be tied down by an organization. They took up various hunting and escorting jobs and were paid with enough Tier 1 Development Spheres as monetary compensation.
As Development Spheres also allowed one to improve their abilities, it had tremendous value. When Krune asked around, he came to know of a concept called inferior money. This inferior money was a minted metal that allowed one to keep tabs in shops and restaurants.
After all, one Tier 1 Development Sphere was enough for a person to eat three meals in a restaurant. So, in such cases, inferior money was used to keep note of the tab. To prevent this system from being abused, Gehen enforced a rule that inferior money was only useful at the shop or restaurant that minted them.
This rule prevented anyone from making money out of this factor. Similarly, it also helped create a system of change that was necessary for microtransactions.
”To have created so many things in such a short time. Just who was he while in the God Realm?” Krune muttered to himself. While passing by, he noticed how the people treated Gehen with the respect befitting his position.
It made it seem like they had forgotten about their cultivator past and had wholly become mortals.
Krune then came across a Trading Guild, a Mining Guild, a Fishing Guild, and other types of guilds. Finally, as he roamed around, he even came across an academy to teach the young. And, it seemed a lot of people had gotten used to the place, married and even had kids.
Academies popped up all over the Empire. Just in the Tertiary Landmass alone, there were around 10 academies. With that, every Kingdom had at least 3-4 academies. As for the villages, they only had small schools that taught them the basics.
Krune looked at the name of the academy, reading it aloud, ”Imperial Academy.”
He looked inside, noticing students wearing their uniforms, bearing bright expressions as they roamed around the campus to attend different sessions. The oldest of the lot seemed to be around 15 years old. And, this age limit would only increase with the years.
Upon inquiring around, Krune realized that the teachers in the academy were part of the Teachers Guild. And, they had a transfer system installed. Depending on their performance, they were transferred accordingly between the various academies. Some counted as a promotion while others counted as a demotion.
As the Imperial Academy, it represented the best of the best. After peering in from the entrance, Krune observed for some time before leaving. He didn't have the permission to enter it, and he didn't wish to disturb Gehen for something so small.
'Just based on the numerous things happening in the place and beyond, Gehen should be swamped with work,' he thought, entering the Mercenary Guild to see how things were faring.
[Kill the Saw-tooth Blighter: 20 Tier 1 DS]
[Bring an intact corpse of a Sonic Radar without its passive ability being lost: 600 Tier 1 DS]
[Capture 20 Stringed Monkeys from Primary Landmass No. 38: 400 Tier 1 DS]
[Bring a young master with you and make him obtain a passive ability: 1 Tier 2 DS]
DS was the short form for Development Spheres. It seemed everyone was habitually using it, another difference he noticed. As cultivators, they always said a name fully, no matter how long it was. But as mortals, the same people shortened everything. It was an abstract display of their changed mindsets. Cultivators had time on their hands while mortals didn't.
There were all sorts of missions lying around. With that, Krune noticed how there was a crowd that was constantly exchanging for missions the moment they were posted. The missions were written on large wooden boards and hung in a banner of sorts. Once they were claimed, they were swapped with another.
Considering there were around 300 such boards spanning one side of the wall, it was apparent just how chaotic the place was. They were divided into tiers based on difficulty. Plus, it seemed ranks had been installed for every guild.
It was a simple star-based rank, with the lowest and highest being one and five stars, respectively. Krune then visited the Blacksmith Guild, for a moment feeling like he was back at home. There was a large reception at the front as weapons of all sorts were displayed.
They, too, were ranked by stars, ranging from one to five. Krune looked at their prices, for a moment frowning as he noticed even a one-star weapon cost around 20-30 Tier 1 DS. A three-star weapon reached as high as 1000 Tier 1 DS.
Krune approached a counter, asking a blacksmith seated behind, flashing his Whale Tooth Dagger, ”How much will this sell for?”
The blacksmith glanced at it, saying, ”A Sonic Radar's tooth. The condition isn't pristine, but it still maintains its sharpness. It would sell for 60 Tier 1 DS.”